Card/cash in france

julie8314dave

Hi Everyone,

We will be going to France soon and i have some questions? Firstly we have normal bank cards i.e Nat west, Barclays etc. We also have a post office ? Caxton card that we can load up. i have a Halifax clarity card which i was told was the best to have, but i did not realise it was a credit card and it came with a thousand pound credit limit.

I cannot get my head around these and as maths is not my thing, can anyone advise me what to do with my £1400 cash to take with me to France, i.e best way of using it everywhere and anywhere, and do i do this in UK or France.

Sorry if it is a bit long winded but i am so confused.

Thanks in advance.:

eDicky

Avoid using your bank cards and forget about 'loading up' Caxton or PO cards.

Keep your money in pounds, converting when you use your Clarity card for euro transactions and ATM withdrawals. For simplicity you can put your pounds on a Monzo card and use it in the same way as Clarity:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards#monzo

julie8314dave

tHANKS, BUT DO YOU CONVERT USING CLARITY CARD AND WHERE, SORRY KEYboard plaYIng up.

eDicky

Your Clarity card will convert for you, at the ideal MasterCard rate, when you use it to pay in euros or withdraw cash euros from an ATM. (Decline any offer to take payment in pounds.) So you don't need to do anything active to convert, very simple, same with Monzo.

Katiehound

Just remember to telephone Halifax before you leave to tell them that you are going to France with the relevant dates
If you feel the limit will not cover your costs you can ask if the credit limit can be raised (even for a limited period.)

knightstyle

We are just back from a month in France, used our Clarity cards for everything. Try to do all purchases with it, it works on motorway tolls and manned/unmanned petrol stations.
If you use it to get some cash make a payment into the card account as soon as possible, either internet or phone.

benjus

The only issue is that the credit limit on your Clarity card is £1000 but you have £1400 of spending money. So at some point you'll need to pay off the balance of the Clarity card so that you can continue using it (remember that it may take a day or two for the transfer to arrive at the card as well). If you have a smartphone and use mobile banking then it should be easy - especially now that there are no roaming fees to pay in France.

sunshinetours

just set a future online payment and that issue will be sorted.

If you are in south east just pop into a Metro Bank and open an account instantly. Their debit card is fee free in Europe and you just pay your £1400 into that bank account and use like any other debit card to pay direct or withdraw cash